May 2025: Palaw Preparation Costs Climb by 15.4%.
In May 2025, the average cost to prepare palaw in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan reached 69.5 Turkmen manat – a 15.4% increase from 60.2 manat in May 2024. Compared to last month (April 2025), when the cost was 68.3 manat, this represents a 1.8% month-on-month rise. Globally, food prices also increased, with the FAO’s Food Price Index showing a 6.0% rise year-on-year.
Annual Price Changes for Core Ingredients in Ashgabat
In May 2025, prices for key palaw ingredients in Ashgabat showed significant fluctuations. Rice saw the most substantial drop, declining 23.7% from the previous year. Carrots and sunflower oil also became cheaper, falling by 17.1% and 0.6%, respectively. On the other hand, several ingredient prices surged– onions rose dramatically by 95.4%, beef increased by 35.0%, and wheat flour climbed 23.9% (see Figure 1).
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FAO Price Index: Global Trends by Product Category
- According to the FAO, the Vegetable Oil Price Index in May 2025 rose 19.1% compared to the same period last year, though it declined 3.7% from last month (April 2025). Sunflower oil prices fell amid reduced global import demand and declining competitiveness.
- Meanwhile, the FAO Cereal Price Index – which includes wheat and other staple grains– dropped 8.2% year-on-year.
- The FAO All Rice Price Index inched up 1.4% over the same period, driven by steady demand for fragrant varieties and rising Indica rice prices.
- The FAO Meat Price Index posted a 6.8% year-on-year increase. Bovine meat prices reached a new record high globally, fueled by strong demand and limited export supplies from major producers.
Methodology
Prices of ingredients in the Palaw Index are collected for 1 kg of onion, carrot, beef, rice, and flour, and 1 liter of cooking oil. Based on the methodology, in order to cook palaw for a family of four, we use 0.3 liters of cooking oil, 0.5 kg of onion, 1 kg of carrots, 0.6 kg of beef, 1 kg of rice, and 0.5 kg of flour in our formula. Please click here to learn more about the methodology of the Palaw Index.
